New York mayor accused of influencing police in favor of political allies

The actions of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are being questioned since a new report suggested he personally called the police to spare a political ally a night in prison.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the call came after
Brooklyn pastor Orlando Findlayter – who had endorsed de Blasio’s
in last year’s election and was also part of the mayor’s
inaugural committee – was pulled over Monday night for a traffic
violation.

Findlayter was then brought in on two outstanding warrants issued
after he failed to appear in court or pay his fine following an
arrest at an immigration rally in October.

Soon afterwards, de Blasio called New York Police Department
Deputy Chief Kim Royster to inquire about the pastor’s arrest.
The call was confirmed by the mayor’s office, which also sent
emails to other NYPD officials that evening.

"The mayor reached out to Deputy Chief Royster to get
clarification on word that there had been an arrest of a
respected local clergyman," mayoral spokesman Phil Walzak
said, according to NBC News.

Royster stated that de Blasio did not ask for the pastor to be
let go, and that Findlayter had already been released by the time
she asked about the case herself.

"We always get inquiries from the mayor's office, and the
inquiry we received is if this individual was arrested or taken
into custody," she told the Journal. "When I inquired
about it, the commanding officer said he was taken into custody,
arrested and was going to be given a desk appearance
ticket."

As the Journal noted, police are usually required to hold an
individual overnight if they are brought in on outstanding
warrants and cannot be arraigned before 1 a.m., when courts are
scheduled to close. NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis said that in
cases where there’s no threat to the local community, the
commanding officer can choose to release an individual at his
discretion.

"[Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lehr] personally knows the
bishop," Davis said, and he "took the option to give him
a [desk appearance ticket]."

Findlayter reportedly told Lehr the reason he didn’t appear in
court before was because he thought his lawyers had cleared up
the situation. He was ordered to appear in court on Tuesday to
settle the issue of the outstanding warrants.

Still, the NYPD’s explanation didn’t sit right with everybody,
some of whom questioned the mayor’s phone call and others who
raised concern over the police department’s behavior. Speaking
with the New York Post, Sgt. Ed Mullins of the Sergeants
Benevolent Association said the decision to release the pastor
was not made according to standard police procedure.

“If a guy has a warrant, you don’t let him go. Period,”
Mullins said. “There is no ‘discretion.’ What if you release
him [and] he drives a block, blows a red light and runs somebody
over and kills him? As a [police] supervisor, you have a lot to
answer for.”